Russia called the extradition of SS veteran Hunki from Canada a matter of principle

The Russian Embassy forwarded to the authorities a request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office for the extradition of 98-year-old Ukrainian SS veteran Yaroslav Hunka (Gunka). This was stated by the Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov, reports TASS.

“This is a matter of principle,” the diplomat noted. He pointed out that the Nazi admitted to voluntarily joining the SS and, therefore, to committing all the crimes in which the Galicia division was involved.

Stepanov clarified that the appeal was sent to Ottawa in December 2023. Moscow is now awaiting a response from the Canadian Ministry of Justice. “Will Canadian justice prosecute him here? That’s the question,” the ambassador said, explaining that there is no extradition treaty between Canada and Russia, but there is a mutual legal assistance treaty from 1997.

On September 22, 2023, at a meeting of the Canadian Parliament in honor of the visit of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, among the guests was 98-year-old Hunka, whom Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota introduced to the applause of the audience as “a fighter for Ukrainian independence against the Russians during the Second World War.” The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put him on the wanted list, accusing him in absentia of genocide of civilians on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR during the Great Patriotic War.